Aflac Incorporated $AFL Shares Purchased by Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lifted its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $541,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 121.9% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 304 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Groupe la Francaise acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Price Performance

Aflac stock opened at $112.24 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $115.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.45, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $106.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.07. Aflac had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 15.08%. The business had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.61%.

Aflac declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 12th that permits the company to buyback 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on AFL. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $106.00 price target (up previously from $105.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.15.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $102,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 25,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,575,019.85. This represents a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, provides supplemental health and life insurance products. The company operates through Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S. segments. The Aflac Japan segment offers cancer, medical, nursing care, work leave, GIFT, and whole and term life insurance products, as well as WAYS and child endowment plans under saving type insurance products in Japan.